DGrayMan: Chaos At The Order
by MasterNeffa
Summary: It's Carnivale, and Exorcist Melanie Bostella has to go get wine for Komui Lee... When she gets Lavi to help her find the Amontillado, things go... a LITTLE bit out of hand. Will Lavi be able to cope with this new challenge? Will Melanie be able to help?
1. A Little Wine and Not Enough Time

Mel sighed, straightening up as she served yet another wineglass filled with rich wine. She had never seen so many people gathered into a single large room, and it nearly made her panic. She, after all, was one of the few exorcists that actually volunteered to serve at the Black Order's Annual Carnival Banquet.

Out of the cooks in the kitchen, actually, only three were exorcists. Of course, there was Jeryy, the head chief of the kitchen, and his 'underlings'. Then there was Kanda, who surprisingly was enjoying salad duty. Lenalee cooked biscuits, while Mel was told to serve the wine.

Now, she was unsure if she was actually allowed to drink any of it at all, considering that she wouldn't be turning eighteen until summer. "I bet Jeryy made me do this because have an acquired taste for fine wine. Or perhaps because my father own a vineyard, assuming that I'd know something about good wine," she grumbled, taking over a large glass of Sherry to an exorcist couple who recently got engaged.

Suddenly, from across the room, she heard the loud and quite drunken shout of her overseer, Doctor Komui Lee. Puzzled, and quite honestly annoyed, she rushed over to the table, wondering what other painstaking tasks he wanted her to perform that evening. Upon seeing his grinning face, she felt a jolt of fear move down her spine, making her walk more awkwardly than ever towards him.

"Melanie, this is Felicia, the Spanish Exorcist who went on a mission with Kanda a few days back. You remember, right?" Komui replied, with an obvious slur in his voice indicating exactly how much alcohol he had sacrificed his coffee for.

Melanie shook her head. "I don't recall ever meeting-"

"Would you be a dear and go fetch the Amontillado from the wine cellar?" Komui drunkenly interrupted.

"Sir, are you okay? You've had several glasses of Sherry and Merlot already. Do I need to put you back on coffee?"

Komui stood up abruptly, and the dining hall fell silent. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm Komui fucking Lee and I can hold down wine better than you any goddamn day! PLEASE go get the Amontillado. Oh, and mix it with some Merlot, would you?"

"But it's only supposed to be used for-"

"GO GET IT!" Komui yelled, sitting down once the shaken 'waitress' had left.

Mel angrily pushed open the door. "Jeryy, where the hell are the wine cellar keys?"

Jeryy pouted. "Well, Little Miss Italiano, why don't you go take a chill pill and-" Jeryy stopped talking as a large metal pan came down on his head. Kanda, his left hand wrapped around the pan's handle, was chopping the cucumbers with his free hand. "I thought he'd never shut up," he mumbled irritably. "Lavi should have the keys, though I don't know why Komui would trust such an idiot to look after them."

"Thanks Kanda! I owe you one!" Mel exclaimed, heading towards the door on the opposite side of the room, skipping happily into the hallway.

"No problem," Kanda mumbled again. He went back to chopping vegetables, with Jeryy lying on the floor next to his feet. He looked into space a little and sighed. "Kids today…"

Lavi watched as Mel ran up to him. "Hey, slow down! You're gonna hurt someone!" he exclaimed teasingly. "Ok, what do you want?"

"I need to get the Amontillado from the wine cellar, but Kanda said you have the keys. Can I use them?" Mel asked, trying to put on her best puppy-dog face.

Lavi grinned. "You know that doesn't work on me. C'mon, I'll open it for you and we'll go down there together."

"Sounds fair."

Lavi and Melanie reached the room that bore the door to the cellar. Carefully, Lavi unlocked the old wooden door with a dull, silver key. After twelve locks came undone, he pushed it open, the creaking noise adding to the eerie darkness below.

Melanie grabbed a candle and they both went down into the cold shadows, squinting a little in attempt to read the labels on the casks. After five minutes of searching, she smiled. "Lavi, my eyes are fine now, I'll be right back, I know where it is. You look for the Merlot."

Mel skipped off before the ginger exorcist could do anything, leaving him alone with nothing to reassure him but his anti-akuma weapon and a candle. He held the candle high and low, looking for a label. He sighed, wondering if she really could see that well. But he didn't doubt her- after all, his right eye was covered by his leather eye patch, only proving that she was probably twice as good at seeing as him.

His left eye caught the sight of the Merlot, which was sitting on a high shelf in a long-necked bottle. He reached for it hard, wondering if Mel already knew it was up there. He sighed, only trying harder to grasp the bottle's neck.

After a while of groping the air for it, he had a firm grip on the bottle. He quickly pulled it from the shelf, knocking over at least twelve other brands of wine. He winced, but soon recovered, and looked all over the floor. "Well, it's a good thing that I didn't break anything TOO important…"

He was too careless to notice that another bottle of merlot was right in his path, and he stepped on it, allowing himself to slip and fall back onto glass fragments. He felt pain as they cut into the left side of his back, the burning pain of alcohol seeping into his blood and making him dizzy. As he hit the floor, his hand let go of the bottle of rich merlot and hit a tub that sat in the rafters that were right below the floor, which tipped it and spilled a dark red liquid, which smelled like vinegar, all over him. That too seeped into his bloodstream when it mixed with the wine all over the floor, entered his mouth and eye, and drenched his clothes.

Before he passed out, he felt the pain as his lungs screamed for the Italian exorcist.

Mel heard the breaking of glass and splashing as she began navigating through the cellar to get back to Lavi. She became focused and alert, which, at the sound of her name being called, progressed into fear and worry.

As she rounded a corner, she faintly saw the older exorcist, who had passed out on the floor with a bunch of wine poured around him. "Get up, Lavi! You're being a drunkard again," she yelled, kicking him in the leg. No use.

Then she smelled something that wasn't wine- and it smelled like iron. It smelled fresh and warm. She knew that scent anywhere.

Blood.

She screamed, and rolled Lavi over, immediately seeing the bleeding, burning wounds that the broken glass had cut into him. Her muscles kicked into high gear as she carried him, using her coat to keep herself dry.

She hurriedly stepped up the stairs to the back room and entered the hallway quietly. She cussed under her breath, wondering exactly how much he weighed. It felt almost weird- he seemed to slowly be getting lighter as the minutes passed.

As she lifted the elevator to the hospital wing, she looked at him. It seemed odd- was he always as short as her? Well, she thought, maybe it's because his hair is wet.

As she dragged him down the hall of the hospital wing, she grunted, realizing that Komui was probably going to yell. "Forget it," she said, opening the door and stripping Lavi of his shirt. "I'll talk to him later about it."

She laid him down on the bed and began healing him, first taking out the fragments of glass that were burrowed under his skin, and then using her innocence to close the wounds. She calmed down as she did this, not realizing how quickly she was wearing out her abilities. She yawned as she put Lavi's shirt and coat back on and covered him with a blanket, and finally passed out on the floor.


	2. Small Setbacks and Big Problems

Lavi woke up the next morning feeling as refreshed as ever. He wanted to jump out of bed, but, to his surprise, he seemed to be covered by a pile of blankets or something. He grunted, trying to wrestle his way out from under them.

He wondered how he had ended up there, under a tarp-like pile. Was this a prank? Was he dead? Sighing, he kept pushing his way through the blanket fabric until he felt a bright light coming down upon him.

From the window, he saw rays of sunshine cutting through a clear blue sky. He smiled, watching from the enormous bed as the birds fluttered outside and…

Lavi looked around at his closer surroundings- an enormous pillow, a large, flat sheet, an enormous blanket- and paled. "W-what happened to me?"

From behind him, he heard a quick gasp and turned abruptly, coming face to face with the seemingly-giant Italian exorcist. Her pupils narrowed in surprise as he took a step back, frightened by her gaze. "H-hi, Mel…" he said, his voice in complete surprise.

She began to breathe heavily, until she could no longer get enough oxygen, and she passed out on the cold floor again.

Allen ran around the Order, trying to locate his friend. He hadn't seen him all morning, which was unusual, considering how early he liked to get up.

He sighed, turning the corner and entering the hospital wing. "I'm sure he's here," he mumbled. "I can FEEL it."

Opening the doors to every room, he sighed with grief, only finding a desk and a neatly made bed in each. He felt downtrodden, having terrible thoughts on the whereabouts of his friend. He was so busy that he didn't know that his hand was touching the same door handle as another exorcist.

He looked up, his face turning white at the sign of General Andrei, the accommodator of Judgement after Cross had died. His face turned red with anger. "Go check another room! I have this one!"

"Goodness, is that anyway to talk to your superiors, Bean Sprout?"Andrei taunted back. Before Allen could kick his ass, he smiled and rubbed Allen's head, all the while turning the doorknob. "See? It's locked from the inside."

Allen flattened his hair down. "Yeah, what do you plan to do about it?" he snarkily remarked.

"This," the General replied, quickly drawing Judgement and clicking the trigger, blowing a hole in the door where the handle once was.

Lavi heard the sound of gunfire and watched the lock being blown off the door. He screamed a little, quickly trying to find somewhere to hide. He frantically looked around the room, finding no place suitable until his eyes fell upon Melanie, or rather, on her strapless gown.

Andrei and Allen walked into the room, noticing the ruffled and slightly-bloody sheets and an Exorcist on the floor. Allen recognized her well- he had rescued her before she joined the Order. "Miss Bostella?" he asked, walking closer and closer until he saw something slipping into her bra.

Allen freaked out and looked at Andrei. "Andrei, s-something just went into her shirt and I really don't want to see what…"

"Well, I'm not going to do it," Andrei laughed.

Allen sighed and faced facts- whatever just went in there could be dangerous. But a bite on the finger trying to get it out seemed a lot less painful than a bite to the heart, so he turned away and moved his hand towards her chest.

He felt a hand close around his wrist, and he turned back around, only to be greeted by a painful smack to the mouth. He yelled back at Mel. "What the hell's wrong with you?"

"You tell me, pervert!" she yelled. "I passed out twice- once after healing him, the next after… after…"

Allen tried to calm her down. "Just relax and keep going. What happened to Lavi?" he said slowly.

Mel looked at him. "I woke up and he was there on the bed. But he was… he was so-" She was about ready to pass out again when she felt something moving around in her bra. "Huh?" she breathed.

As she fished the moving creature out of her shirt, Allen and Andrei watched in suspense, worrying that whatever it was would bite her. She finally brought up a strange, four-limbed creature. He heard it speaking in perfect English, yelling at Mel to let it go as it kicked and flailed around. It looked… almost like…

"L-Lavi?" Allen gasped, scooting closer to him and squinting. "What… what happened to you?"

"Gah! I don't know! But I'm NOT liking this!" the tiny ginger responded.

"Put him down, Melanie. He already had problems being in YOUR bra…" Andrei teased.

She looked at him and yelled. "Shut up, pervert!"

"Ouch," Lavi yelled, still kicking his legs through the air. "That hurt my ears, you know!"

"Oh, s-sorry…" Melanie said, setting him down on the floor. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

"Y-yeah, just a bit shaken, but otherwise just fine. I'm not exactly sure how I got this way, though." He paced around a little bit, unaware that Mel was thinking about how cute he looked at that height. "I remember the glass puncturing my shoulder, then how this tub in the rafters fell on me."

"A what?" Andrei asked, turning around and leaving the room. "I'll be right back!" he yelled from down the hall.

"What was that about?" Mel asked.

"I don't know, but Lavi…" Allen replied, staring at the shrunken exorcist with smiling eyes, "you're so… so… ADORABLE!" He picked Lavi up off the floor and held him up to his face. "You're so small and cute!"

"Gah! Your grip is killing me, Allen! Let me go!"

Allen loosened his grip slightly, but still firmly held him. "God, why didn't this happen a few days ago? I wouldn't have been NEARLY as bored! Oh, and Lavi…" he said, a slow smirk spreading across his face. "I'm no longer the Bean Sprout, am I?"

Lavi scowled. "Put me down now, Allen, or my HAMMER will make sure that you're still the shortstack!"

Allen smiled. "Alright, alright. Enough fun already. You're about as cranky as Kanda would be about this…" He flattened out his hand and set him down on the palm, allowing him to stand a little.

"Well, shortstack," Lavi replied, the nickname now feeling a little out of place, "I have a right to be upset, you know. I don't know who did this to me."

"Hey," Melanie grinned, "at least you're safe, as long as someone's carrying you. We wouldn't want you getting hurt, now, would we?"

Lavi shivered. "I don't even want to think about something that gruesome."

Suddenly, Andrei burst back through the door, a hung-over Komui slung over his back like a flour sack. He put the doctor down and shook him awake again, the Chinese man replying with dazed interjections.

Andrei slapped him. "Fix it."

Komui looked around. "Okay, where'd you hide him now?" he asked, looking in the broom closet.

"Over here!" Lavi shouted loudly.

Komui suddenly turned and smacked his head on the closet's doorframe. "Lavi? Where are you?"

"You idiot! I'm over by Allen and Mel!" he yelled.

Komui followed Lavi's voice, which was surprisingly quiet for yelling. He came over to the white-haired exorcist and looked around. "Nope. I still can't find you. Did you turn invisible or something?"

Lavi held a hand to his face. Cupping his hands to his mouth, he yelled even louder. "No, Komui," he grumbled. "Why don't you try looking down? I'm sure Allen could give you a HAND."

Komui tilted his eyes down until he saw someone standing on Allen's palm. He double-took the shrunken exorcist, suddenly bending down and adjusting his glasses. "Lavi? Is that really you?" he asked, moving a hand towards a pocket on his coat.

"About time! I was getting sick of giving you hints!" Lavi said, not sure whether to smile or be terrified. As he began to open his mouth again to say something, Komui reached down at him with a pair of tweezers. He was lifted quickly away from Allen's palm and in front of the doctor's face by the back of his shirt.

"Hmm," Komui muttered, holding up a magnifying glass to get a good look at him. "Interesting."

"I'm not a science experiment, now put me down!" Lavi yelled, flailing his limbs around in adorable anger.

Komui huffed a little bit. "Well god, you're a feisty little one aren't you? A big temper for such a small body…"

Lavi's face turned bright red, and he felt insulted by Komui's comment. "PUT…ME…DOWN…"

"Alright, Alright!" Komui said, holding the redhead out towards Mel and dropping him into her hands. "Why don't you hang onto him for now? He'll be better off." He stood up and cantered towards the door. "Well, my work here is done."

Lavi froze. "B-but… what about fixing this?"

"I'll be back in an hour or two with the conditions of this. I need time to assess this in private."

"Why don't I take my foot and-"

Mel covered Lavi with her other hand, smothering his outbursts. "Take your time, Komui, but don't be too long. We need to know when this'll end so he can get back to missions."

"Yes, I'll see to it," Komui said, walking out of the room. "Right after I make my morning coffee. Perhaps you should go downstairs and get breakfast yourself, Miss Bostella."

After they no longer heard the clacking of Komui's strangely new-looking shoes, Mel took her hand off of Lavi, who immediately gasped a bit for cool, fresh air. "Careful next time!" he yelled, collapsing against Mel's thumb.

"S-sorry," she said, gently rubbing his back with her little finger. He seemed so fragile, and she thought about how much stress his body could take at height. What's more, she wondered if he could still activate and use his innocence.

She took Komui's words into consideration and smiled. "Hey, Allen, would you like to go get some food from the cafeteria for us three?"

Allen perked up. "Breakfast? Really?" After Mel had nodded he smiled. "Thanks! I'll be right back… though I'll need some help carrying it all." He took off his cloak and began walking towards the door. "I'll ask Lenalee or someone like that for help. You just stay here with Lavi."

The door slammed shut as he ran out of the room, and Lavi looked at the Italian exorcist above him. "Now what?" he asked.

She pressed a finger to her mouth, and then got an idea. "How about a nice hot bath?" she asked, smiling genuinely.

Lavi was confused. "Wouldn't that mean I'd have to take all of my clothes off?"

"Well, yes, I suppose so. I could find something that's the right size for you, too, so you won't drown in the bathtub. Speaking of which," she said, pondering again, "I should probably take a bath, too, while I'm at it. I haven't had one since yesterday afternoon."

Lavi fell dead silent at those words, quietly thinking to himself. Maybe he'd actually…

"I'd have to use something to cloud the water for the both of us, though, just so that neither of us get a funny idea or two." Mel smiled. "I mean, you're not the only one with those kinds of thoughts on their mind."

Lavi blushed a little and sighed. "What'll I use to dry myself off?"

"I can use the medical scissors to cut a towel small enough for you." She looked outside at the birds, which tweeted happily in the warm light of a late winter's morning. "So that's what you saw first when you woke up, wasn't it?"


	3. Teacup Bathtub

Allen walked down the hallway, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. He couldn't quite remember the last time he had done so, nor did he actually recall any time where he had the choice to begin with. But now he noticed things that were quite odd; the walls were covered in very old art; the stairs were very steep and very small. He then caught a very strong scent- coffee.

He turned the corner to see Lenalee, who was on her usual duty delivering the morning coffee to the Science Division. The white-haired exorcist smiled at her, and she smiled back and began walking towards him. Her facial expression melted into something very distressed, and she sighed as she approached Allen. "Any luck in finding him?"

"Surprisingly, yes," Allen said, enjoying the moment as Lenalee's face brightened and she seemed to get excited. "Well, where is he?"

"He's up in the hospital ward, but I don't think he wants anyone else to see him right now."

"Well," Lenalee asked curiously, "why not?"

Allen grinned a little bit and sighed. "Let's just say… with the state he's in right now… he'd be embarrassed if anyone else knew what happened last night."

"Oh," Lenalee said, understanding that Lavi should probably have his privacy. "So, is he alone up there?"

"Oh, no. Mel's watching him and making sure he doesn't hurt himself. That would be…" he snickered, "a BIG problem…"

"W-why are you chuckling like that? Is something about it funny?"

Allen ran off towards the cafeteria. "I'll explain later, 'kay? I have to go get food for Mel, Lavi and I." Before he turned a corner in the hallway, he yelled to her. "See ya later, Lenalee!"

Lavi steadily lowered himself into his makeshift bathtub- a teacup- and sighed in relief. The bath was just perfect- it was clouded by a sweet-smelling mix of vanilla, lavender and eucalyptus, and it was very warm, as though he were in a spa. He smiled.

Mel finished filling the bathtub with water and smiled over to the tiny exorcist, who was splashing a little bit in the teacup that was carefully placed on the floor near the tub's base. She then smiled, closing the curtain around the tub and slowly lowering herself in, the hot water soothing her body and making her feel more comfortable. She poured a large amount of the clouding fluid and smiled, and then, when she could no longer she her body, reached down to pick up the teacup AND its saucer, along with Lavi.

Lavi felt himself being carefully lifted over to a small, tray like thing that held soap, shampoo, a newspaper and a few other miscellaneous objects, including a small towel for him to dry off with.

"So," Mel asked, with a sly grin on her face, "what were you doing in my bra this morning?"

"Oh…" Lavi blushed deeply, wondering why she had chosen such an awkward first question. "Well, I was a little frightened by Andrei shooting at the door handle."

"Really?" she asked, the doubt very relevant in her eyes. "Last time I checked, frightened and cold did not have the same meaning."

"I was not being a pervert, ok!" Lavi yelled in frustration. "The combination of Andrei's frightening height along with the fact that there was a DRAFT in the room doesn't account for that, got it?"

Mel laughed a little. "You're so cute when you're angry, y'know that?"

"Huh?" Lavi said, blushing hard enough that the blood felt like it was rushing to his skull. "W-what do you mean?"

"Well, maybe now I just see a side of you that was harder to see- the top of your head."

"Hey!" Lavi yelled, grabbing the towel for himself and standing up. He wrapped it around his waist and stepped out of his tub, walking over to the edge of the tub-tray to scold Mel. "Just because I'm…"

Mel burst into more laughter. "It's funny when you do that, it really is! You have no idea that I'm just messing with you! It's so adorable!"

Lavi looked at her. "Really, are you some sort of psycho?"

"No, not at all. I just love to watch human emotions at work. It intrigues me."

Allen finished ordered everything her was going to need. "Thank you, Jeryy!"

"No problem, cutie pie!" he cooed back.

Allen looked around the dining hall, noticing that there weren't many people around. He sighed. Had it really been THAT late?

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the sight of long black hair, and he turned, causing his skin to prickle as his eyes fell upon Kanda.

Kanda stared at him and, with his mouth half full of soba noodles, grumbled, "What do you want, beansprout?"

Allen ignored the crude nickname and forced a smile. "We found Lavi."

"Oh, just grand…" Kanda continued slurping up soba quickly.

"Hey, could I have some of-"

"NO!" Kanda barked. "Why didn't Lavi come down here for food, if you've found him?"

Allen was shocked to see Kanda taking any interest in Lavi. "Well," he said, rubbing the back of his head, "there were a few complications…"

"Like, what?"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe me. Hey, could you help me? I need to take dishes upstairs for Mel, Lavi and I and I really need-"

"NO."

"C'mon, Kanda! PLEEEEEEEAAAA-"

"I SAID NO!"

"I bet you'd like to see what happened to Lavi, wouldn't you?" Allen inferred slyly. "It's actually quite hilarious what happened… I bet YOU'D even laugh."

Kanda glared at him. "Good Luck with that! There is nothing that he could ever do to make me laugh…"


	4. Breakfast Terrors

Lavi finished putting his clothes back on and smiled. "Hey, can I check my hair for a minute?"

Mel smiled and, after fastening her gloves back on, scooped him up, holding him to the mirror in the bathroom. He walked out to the edge of her fingertips, almost able to touch the mirror itself. After playing with his bangs a little bit, he adjusted his eye patch and stepped back.

"Am I really that short?" he asked jokingly, chuckling at how funny it really looked all of a sudden. From a first person view, he saw everything as extremely giant, but, when given a mirror, he seemed just the same and he could laugh at himself.

"Nah, you're just perfect, no matter what," Mel complimented. "Now, where is Allen and why is he taking so long?" She grabbed Lavi by his shirt again and set him up on her shoulder. "Let's go find him, shall we?"

Lavi sighed. "Yeah, we should probably make sure he isn't scarfing down all of the food without us…"

Lavi realized how bad of a decision he had made by saying that when Mel suddenly took off like a wild, hungry animal. He flipped backwards a little and felt himself falling. His instincts forced his hands to shoot out, locking around thick bundles of brunette hair. Holding on for dear life, he watched as everything blurred by.

Mel ran down countless flights of stairs, not caring to look at the pretty pictures. She thought she saw someone with an empty tray in their hands, and the thought that food may have been on that tray was enough to make her run with even more speed.

She ran down twenty-seven more flights of stairs before reaching the dining hall, panting as she stopped in the archway. "L-Lavi? You still there?"

Lavi climbed up onto her shoulder carefully. "I'm a little shaken, thank to you, but otherwise I'm alright."

"Good, because I see Allen talking to Kanda over there in the corner. Just hang on and keep quiet."

Before Lavi could object, Melanie brushed her hair down in front of him like a curtain, concealing him from view. He watched as the giantess poked Allen's shoulder.

"Hello, Allen…" she said, looking a little peeved. "Where's the food you said you were going to bring up?"

"Well, Jeryy's been taking a long time with it. Feeding me is hard enough for the guy, but both of us? He might as well recreate last night's dinner."

"Heh, and go through torture and salad duty again?" Kanda replied. "I'd rather go through whatever the hell Lavi's going through."

"By the way," Allen asked, turning his head towards the Italian Exorcist in curiosity, "where is Lavi? You didn't leave him in that big empty room by himself, did you?"

"N-no, nothing of the sort. I wouldn't put him into that much danger." Mel sighed, and then suddenly heard a few whispers from Lavi. She clasped her hands over her mouth when she heard him, the sudden urge to scream nearly overcoming her as he abruptly spoke up.

Kanda saw Mel's pupils narrow and watched her hands go up to her mouth. "What's wrong with her, Allen?"

"N-nothing..." Mel replied for him. "J-just a mild case of Schizophrenia. It h-happens quite often after you live in a church with the Pope for many y-years. You start hearing ghosts and-"

"KANDA!" Lavi yelled in a deep voice. "I AM THE SPIRIT OF THE SOBA NOODLES!"

Kanda twitched. "What…the…hell?"

Allen just stared out in front of him, shocked. "What do you want, Mr. Spirit?"

"NOTHING FROM YOOOOU, ALLEN WALKER."

Kanda looked around for the source of the voice. "Where the hell are you, demon? I'll cut you navel to nose!"

"YOU HAVE BEEN EATING MY CHILDREN, YUU, AND NOW YOU'LL PAY FOR IT!" Lavi said, stifling his snickering.

Kanda's eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute, there's only one person who uses my first name… and that's…"

Allen sighed. "Mel, where is he hiding now?"

Kanda looked back at her, a dark glare on his face. "Yeah, where did the rabbit hop off to?" He slowly drew out his sword.

"Nowhere," Lavi replied, laughing and lying down on Mel's shoulder, kicking around because he was in so much comedic pain. "I can believe you fell for-"

He winced as the blade of Kanda's sword fell within an inch of his head, and felt exposed as the sword's point pushed back the curtain of brunette locks surrounding him. He stared at Kanda who at first, was REALLY ticked. "H-hi, Yuu…"

Kanda's pupils narrowed in surprise as he saw a tiny Lavi perched upon Mel's shoulder. "Huh?" he thought aloud, sheathing his blade again and reaching for the puny exorcist, thinking that he must be dreaming.

Lavi tried to run as he was grasped firmly by Kanda's large hand. He struggled and yelped as he was brought across the table for a closer look. He winced, waiting for the pain of being suffocated to come, but it never did. Instead, he watched in even more horror as something even more gruesome spread across the swordsman's face.

Kanda smiled a little bit and bit his lip, trying hard not to laugh. THIS is what happened to Lavi? God, he would totally take kitchen duty every day for the rest of the month instead of being stuck that way! What had he been thinking?

Kanda failed to stifle his laughter, creating an outburst so loud that anyone else in the room- no, on the same floor- could hear him. "This is priceless!"

"Gah! Yuu, you're hurting my ears!" Lavi screamed, hitting his fists against one of Kanda's fingers. "Let go of me!"

Kanda playfully dropped him onto his plate of soba, not even caring if he had taken a shower or not. He couldn't help it. Lavi was so weak now that even walking somewhere would be a chore for him. He wondered…

Lavi yelled at him. "Why did you drop me here, you idiot! I just took a bath!"

Kanda smiled a little more gruesomely down at him now. He held up his chopsticks and tapped them together a little bit. "Why don't we play a game, little one? Like… cat and mouse?" Kanda replied with a dark, twisted tone in his voice.

Mel looked at him. "Kanda, don't you think you're going a little too far?"

Kanda ignored them, chasing Lavi around with the chopsticks as he tried to escape. Allen put his hand out, but Kanda took a metal spoon from down the table and smacked it on the back. "Touch me with that hand and you die. Same goes for you, Italian."

Lavi felt himself stopping, and the being slowly dragged backwards. He stuttered quickly at the swordsman as he was lifted up to his face. "What are you going to do now?"

"I just…" Kanda said thoughtfully, "want a taste…"

Allen heard those words and yelled at him. "Kanda, don't you DARE!"

Kanda continued ignoring him and smiled, suddenly sticking Lavi directly into his mouth. He sat there listening as Lavi struggled around, unable to see anything and panicking. He tasted like blood and wine, as well as musty clothing. Lavender… eucalyptus… was that a hint of green tea along with that?

Mel reached over to grab at Kanda, getting a smack to the back of her hand. "Ouch! Let him go, Kanda! You've had your fun. If you even think about going any further…"

Kanda tilted his head back playfully, watching as the Exorcists across the table became horrified. He rested his head back down, still listening to Lavi, who was now yelling in horrified anger at him. He felt a thump against the roof of his mouth and decided his fun was over. Opening his mouth, he held out his hand to catch the tiny Exorcist as he tumbled out, covered from head to toe in spit.

"What the hell was that for, Yuu?" Lavi asked audaciously.

"I'm not sure what got into me, but I almost let it stay there."

"You bastard," Lavi grumbled, "when I get back to normal I'm going to kick your-"

Mel quickly grabbed him, cautious as even she sometimes believed that anything from Kanda was venomous. She took out a white handkerchief and helped clean him up. "Kanda, that was rude! Do you know how close I was to telling Komui to cut you open with a scalpel?"

Allen looked down at Lavi and smiled. "Well, at least he didn't eat you, Lavi…"

"HE WAS CLOSE TO!" Lavi screeched at him from beneath the white cloth. "It wasn't funny!"

Mel laughed. "Well, at least that nightmare is over."

Kanda went back to his serious self, still having his laughter locked away inside of him. "So, um… who did this to him, anyway?"

"We think it was Komui," Allen said.

"Oh, right," Kanda said, remembering when the last Order HQ was destroyed. He and Lavi had gotten their hands on some potions that turned them into little kids. "Yeah, Komui's a nut-job when it comes to that."

"You're telling me," Lavi said, as the white cloth went back into Mel's pocket. He flattened out his hair a little bit. "Everything's a danger now."

Allen down at him. "But now you're cuter than ever, Lavi!"

Kanda laughed a little bit. "I don't think that was the right word, Bean Sprout."

"I am not a Bean Sprout!"

"He's right, Kanda," Lavi said. "I _am _shorter than him now…"


	5. Close Call with Coffee

After sitting and waiting for their food, Allen smiled as he came back with at least a dozen trays piled with food. Kanda stared for a half second, and then went back to eating, while Mel just looked at him. "Well, at least it tells you how much you need energy."

"Huh?" Allen asked. "What do you mean? Oh, right- you've been training yourself to go for days without food again, haven't you?"

Mel nodded. "Five days, and I'm definitely tired of it. Well, at least I know no parasitic-type Exorcist will ever beat my record."

Lavi looked up at her, suddenly interested. "What would that be?" he asked, and a plate of chocolate cake was set down behind him. He stared but, before digging in, he waited for a response.

"Three weeks, only on water and a box of saltines."

Allen dropped his fork. "WHAT!"

Mel smiled. "I didn't have to use my Innocence at all! There was no reason to, besides perhaps the occasional scurvy." She took another forkful of pasta and shoved it into her mouth. "It's not a big deal."

Lavi looked at her. "I'm making a note to that."

Carefully, Mel slipped one of the fork prongs down the neck of his cloak, in the back. She lifted him with ease and smiled. "I know you are, Lavi. I know you are."

"Allen?" a higher female voice called out.

The white-haired exorcist turned to see Lenalee walking towards him, a hand reaching out to touch his shoulder. He faced her and smiled. "This is about Lavi, isn't it?"

"I couldn't find him in any of the hospital rooms. Where is he now?" she asked, tapping her foot at a lightning fast pace.

Mel un-pronged Lavi and set him down on a soup spoon, which gave him enough room at least to sit. "Th-thanks," the ginger said, relieved.

Lenalee looked around. "L-Lavi? Is that you? Where are you?"

"I'm here- just… in a predicament. You can finish my cake if you want."

Lenalee was still looking around for the young Bookman. "Are you really that ill?" she asked, spying the rather small piece of cake on the table. "You must be skin and bones."

Mel turned around. "Your brother was fermenting something in the wine cellar and it spilled on Lavi," she explained, "and did THIS to him." She carefully held out the spoon towards Lenalee, who froze in terror the moment her dark but shining eyes met Lavi's.

"I… can't believe…" she stuttered.

Allen smiled. "I know right! He's cute isn't he?"

"No, no, no! You don't get it, do you?" she yelled. "How is he supposed to go on missions? Komui sent me down here to tell you that we have an assignment."

Mel looked at her. "I can hang onto him if you'd like."

Kanda smirked darkly. "Or, of course, you could always leave him here with Komui…"

Lavi turned and stared at him, then whipped out his hammer. "Oozuchi Kuzuchi-"

Mel quickly grabbed the miniscule trinket from his hand. "No, we're not going to start a fight now. I think Kanda may be right- we don't want you to risk getting hurt."

"But I really want to go!" Lavi complained.

Mel set him down on the table next to his cake slice and sighed. "We don't want you to end up getting killed, Lavi. We're trying to protect you."

Lavi's face turned a little bit crimson at this statement and he stomped his foot against the plate. "I don't need protection! I'm not that weak, am I?"

Kanda grabbed him by the leg with his chopsticks and applied slight pressure. He heard a gasp of pain and felt a little satisfied. "Does THAT hurt?" he asked.

"Yes, very. Now please stop before you break a bone," Lavi uttered through gritted teeth.

He was let go, and began falling, when Lenalee shot out her hand to catch him. With a gentle thump, she felt a strange weight on her hand. It was almost… unreal and bizarre.

"You're so light," she commented.

"No, really?" he replied sarcastically, rubbing his bruised leg. "I thought I'd weigh the same."

"Don't talk like that to me, mister," Lenalee said, setting him down next to the plate again. "Now, can I share your cake with you?"

Lavi blushed slightly and tried to copy a French accent. "Be my guest, mon Cherie!"

Komui stood up from his papers as the door opened. "Lenalee? Did you bring them up?" he asked, adjusting his glasses.

Lenalee walked in, the other three exorcists following after her. She held Lavi in her cupped hands. "You need to fix this. NOW."

"I'm well aware," Komui half-whined. He swiveled his chair over to a file cabinet and opened it, humming as his fingers gently caressed the folder labels.

He drew out a folder and sighed. "Russia- a cold, wintery place. Been there before?"

"Once," Lenalee said. "You'd know- you wouldn't stop bawling when I came back with a bad shoulder."

"Oh yeah, I remember that now. Weren't you with Andrei that time?" he asked.

"Don't remind me." She set Lavi down on the desk and pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. The last time she had gone to Russia, Andrei had nearly drunk himself into a stupor. "That's the last time you pair me with that Cross-in-training."

Komui laughed, then turned his attention to Lavi. He looked over and Lenalee, who was still upset about the Moscow mission. "And what should I do about him?"

"If you hurt him, I swear you'll have a concussion when I get back." Lenalee shut the door after grabbing the folder from his hands. From behind the door, he could hear her shouting, "and I'll be sure to confiscate anything you hurt him with!"

"My, what a pleasant temper," Komui said, picking up a pair of tweezers and grabbing Lavi by the shirt. He held the Bookman up to his glasses and watched as he struggled, the futile attempts to detach himself from the metal objects grasping the black fabric awfully amusing to watch. "Don't you agree, Lavi?"

"L-listen, I'd really appreciate it if you'd put me down now. I've been picked up by people all day and Kanda pretended he was going to eat me." Lavi began trying another tactic. He undid a couple of his buttons and fell out of his jacket- and straight into very warm, industrial strength coffee.

Spluttering and gagging, he lifted his head up from under the surface, watching as Komui's eyes slowly followed where he had fallen. The scientist gasped, probably for his now spoiled coffee, and plucked Lavi out with two of his fingers. "Thanks, now I'm going to have to go get more."

"Hey, I told you to put me down!" he said, taking off his cloak and ringing out his clothes. "So much for the bath…" he muttered, wondering who on Earth was going with Lenalee.

The door was slammed open by a very peeved Allen, Kanda standing behind him with his usual straight face. Allen harshly propped his hands onto the desk and looked Komui in the eyes. "Why the HELL am I with him again? All he does is make snarky remarks that continue to piss me off! Couldn't you make Mel come with instead?"

"Well," Komui said, "I have to have someone there to keep you away from Lenalee, so why not have Kanda do it. Also, I need Mel here so any Exorcists with bad wounds can be healed quickly. So deal with it!"

Allen puffed up in anger. "Do NOT even hint that I'm a womanizer."

"Well, when you're raised by one…"

"I was NOT raised by him. I had three years with that guy and I'm not going back!" Allen growled.

Kanda looked at him. "Hey, quit complaining and let's go." Kanda grabbed Allen by his collar and dragged him from the room.

Lavi, still dripping wet, looked at Komui. "Good luck. One of them is going to come back with something broken. And neither of them is going to be the one breaking it."

Komui sighed. "That's why Lenalee is going with them- she'll kick their head off their shoulders if they jabber."

Mel had gotten a call to bring Komui more coffee. Sighing, she headed up the stairs with the tray. Things hadn't been going smoothly for a long time, and she was beginning to worry about the outcome of what had happened last night.

_I shouldn't have let Lavi come with me_, she thought. _I should have been in Lavi's place._

There was a sudden crash from Komui's office, and she ran with the tray to the door.

Lavi was holding Oozuchi Kuzuchi extended, to the point where it was huge to him and maybe two feet to Mel.

She grabbed it from him and sighed. "You two are going to end up killing each other before the day is over. I don't think he'll be staying with you…" She plucked Lavi off his perch and set him on her shoulder. "Sorry Komui, but bizarre experimentation isn't part of the story. When are the others leaving for Moscow?" she asked.

"They should be leaving tomorrow morning after breakfast."

"Thanks." And with that, Melanie closed the door.


	6. A New Day Ahead

"That was too close. He had a scalpel. A SCALPEL!" Lavi yelled.

"I know, I saw it too. You don't need to make a huge deal of it- at least it's over." Melanie walked down the hall and into the library, where the Science Divison was working. "Hey, guys! Did Komui, by any chance, tell you about the tub in the wine cellar rafters?"

The Divison workers stopped and stared at her. "Did you touch it?" Johnny asked.

"It fell on Lavi when he had critical cuts and it went into his bloodstream. And it did this to him." She pointed at Lavi with her pinky.

The Divison members stared at the Exorcist for a while in awe, until Lavi finally shouted at them for examining him like that.

"S-Sorry…" Reever said. "Usually Komui's medicines do something a little less severe, but this could REALLY be a problem."

"That was supposed to be medicine?" Mel asked, half-yelling.

"Yes, for you, I believe."

Melanie stopped. She had remembered her issue. Recently her body had been attacking itself for the apparent reason that her Innocence was rejecting her. It was getting harder to heal others and getting harder to manipulate energy. "Why would Komui use something like that on me?" she asked.

"It wasn't meant to have that effect on you, just everyone else. It would make it easier for you to handle missions with your current problem." Reever looked at his papers. "You've told everyone, right? It isn't just the Science Divison anymore?"

"Afraid not. Allen would understand the best what I'm going through. If it's anything like how his Innocence has been rejecting him, I'd be locked up pretty soon."

"Locked up? How come?" Johnny asked.

"N-Nevermind," Melanie said. "Do any of you think you can produce a cure for him?"

"I don't know… that wine cellar stuff is usually Komui's recipes."

"Please? For me?"

Reever patted Mel's head. "We'll try, but be sure to talk to Komui about fixing this, too. This chemical isn't our fault, you know…"

"Understood, sir."

Melanie went back up to her room, a decorated room with many sweet-scented flowers and lots of red fabric, including drapes and bedspread.

She pulled out a tin with chocolates from her nightstand and popped one into her mouth. After setting Lavi down on the table's surface, she offered him one. He gently took the chocolate, which was about the size of his head, and sat down. "Thank you," he said.

"No problem- it's good to have a bedtime snack, right?"

Lavi did a spit take and stared at her. "It's bedtime already?"

"Yeah, it's already nine o'clock. You slept in very, VERY late."

"No kidding! It felt like maybe three in the afternoon when we came up here!" Lavi said.

"I thought so, too. But if we have a big day trying to get you back to normal tomorrow, we need as much rest as possible."

"I guess. But where am I going to sleep?" Lavi questioned, not seeing anything that would be small enough.

Mel pulled out a matchbox and emptied it of its matches. Setting it next to the pint-sized Bookman, she pulled off one of her gloves and lay it down inside of the matchbox. She took off the other one so he could use it as a blanket.

"Thanks, Mel. You're always there to provide in these situations."

"No, thanks for letting me help you!"

That night, Lavi felt the worst draft he had ever felt in years. It was worse than Medical Room Nine. What was he going to do?

He looked over at Melanie, who was fast asleep under her big red blanket. She looked so comfortable and happy; she wouldn't like to be woken up, would she…

As he contemplated his options, he noticed how much colder he was getting. All at once, he couldn't take it anymore, and he pulled away the glove blanket, got up, and jumped from the nightstand to her bed…

…and landed directly on her face, waking her.

"Ugh… Lavi? Why are you on my face like that? Don't you know it's rude to-" She trailed off, noticing how his little body was freezing. She picked him up and held him against herself, quietly whispering to him that he'd be fine.

But when the shivering didn't stop enough to put him back, she became concerned. She did what would probably one of Lavi's most terrifying moments…

Slowly and carefully, she placed him in her shirt, so that her breasts were hugging him. She could feel him flailing a little bit, and then realizing what was going on and calming himself a little more.

"You know… this is kind of not like you…" he said.

Mel looked away for a moment, and then replied, "Nonsense, I'd do this for anyone in your situation…"

Lavi looked up at her face, and then away for a minute. This wasn't right, he told himself. I'm a Bookman; I'm not supposed to feel any affection for a girl like her.

"Lavi," Mel said. "Why are you always so shy around me?"

"W-Well … I, uhm, this is a little bit of an awkward situation right now, Mel, it's not exactly the time for questioning." He looked at her again, wondering why he wasn't questioning her. "Why are you so kind to me? I clearly don't deserve it with all the trouble I'm putting you through."

Mel blushed at little, embarrassed inside and not sure how to answer until she found her shovel to dig herself out. "Remember that day when you and Allen had rescued me? You took a critical hit from a bullet."

"Yeah, and you healed me, so we're even."

"No, not exactly. The truth is, I can't heal myself, and so if the virus was inside of you, I could take it out quickly. But in my case, I'd crumble anyway. You saved my life, Lavi. I'm in debt to you."

"Well, is this calling it even, then?" he replied.

"Not really, I'm obliged to help you at the extent of any damage I cause you, including this. All of it was my fault- I shouldn't have let you come down to the cellar with me."

"It's alright, God lets mistakes be made so that we become wiser, I guess."

"Hmmm…" Mel mumbled. "Well, this is a really stupid one then, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily," Lavi remarked. "I mean, now you can pay off whatever you are paying off and I can rest after those seemingly endless missions."

"I guess so," Mel replied, yawning. "We better get some sleep though, we have a long day ahead of us."

"Mel, I-" The pint-sized Exorcist was interrupted.

"Shhhh. Sleep now, think later. The best strategies are those."

Mel rolled to her side and fell asleep before he could say anything more though, and he just sighed, allowing himself to drift into a deeply thoughtful state. And before long, he was asleep, facing in towards her and breathing deeply.


	7. Too Tired To Object

Mel twitched as the early morning sun hit her directly in the face, and she woke to look up at the birds hopping about the tree branches that gently caressed her room's arched window. She rubbed her face and turned to face a large mop of red hair.

Surprised, she screamed, waking Lavi up in the most surprising way. He tried to rub his eyes but found himself unable to move. She stared at herself for a minute, realizing that they were literally wearing the same shirt, with Lavi wearing another underneath.

"LAVI! Get OUT!" she screamed, startling him even more. She unzipped her coat and pushed him away from her.

"Jeez, you don't need to be so testy!" Lavi whined loudly. But before he could complain any more, he realized that they were the same height. He looked at the surroundings, which were still as enormous as they had been the night before. "Um, Mel, we have a problem."

"What?" she asked, irritably.

"Whatever that tub of stuff was, it hasn't worn off yet." He watched her as it all sunk in, the anger melting off her face and being replaced with an expression of pure fear and shock.

"Oh, God, what're we going to do?" she panicked, darting her eyes every which way.

Lavi grabbed her shoulders. "Calm down. This situation isn't half bad. Trust me; I've been stuck this way longer than you. We just need to get someone to notice."

He looked around at the room and stared at her. Grabbing the zipper on her coat, he pulled it up to her chin. "And you should probably not pull that down too far. It makes me uneasy."

"Sorry," she replied, pulling it back down a little ways to the top of her chest. "A lot of my leisure clothes are itchy during the spring."

Lavi helped Melanie down the leg of the bed and grinned. "It's about stamina- if you just hold on and go down slowly, you lose it a LOT faster."

"That's nice, now could we figure out how to get to Komui or one of our friends, preferably before we're killed by something harmless?" she asked bitterly.

"Yeah, let's head out."

Lavi began walking towards the door, when he heard footsteps. Carefully, he grabbed Mel's arm and peered under (another luxury of being that height), staring up at Allen and Kanda, who were standing at Mel's door.

He listened intently to the conversation, surprised that at first they weren't fighting.

"Listen, I know you don't talk to her much, but at least go in there at tell her 'Good Morning' or 'I'll see you later' or something," Allen said.

"What's the point, bean sprout?" the swordsman replied.

"It's ALLEN, for the hundredth time. You know that she cares about us, right?" Allen asked.

"She does? I thought… nevermind…" he said reaching for the door knob.

Lavi pushed Mel back and dove, the door swinging above them- just inches away from a knockout. "Hey, Yuu, watch what you're doing!" Lavi yelled, a little ticked that Kanda wasn't paying attention. As usual.

Kanda looked down at him, at first surprised a little by the sheer size of the Exorcist who yelled at him. But then he suddenly relaxed a little bit, remembering how helpless Lavi was. He bent down and glared at him. "Don't you dare call me that! Got it?" he said. "Where has your little girlfriend run off to now? I have to tell her something."

"I'm not his girlfriend!" Mel yelled standing up and brushing herself off. She walked as the giant's cats-eye gaze shifted to her, the pupils drowned in deep blue narrowing in his own version of shock. He stared at her for a few minutes, and then picked her up by her jacket.

Mel began to kick and scream as she was pulled away from the ground. She HATED heights, and the situation wasn't helpful at all. As she was examined by the swordsman, she let out a very loud 'meep' and started freaking out.

Kanda questioned this behavior, raising and eyebrow as she began to cry. "God, can you be quiet for even a minute?" he half-yelled.

"You're hurting my ears!" she screamed back.

Kanda tensed up- he had never thought that he'd need to be careful, let alone quiet. She was small- even something light to him dropping on her could kill her. He felt like something was pelting him in his chest. He didn't know this kind of pain- it felt weird, like he was actually guilty.

"I… um… okay, it's okay…" he said, setting her back on the ground and sighing. "Moyashi, get over here…"

"It's ALLEN, you stupid moron…" Allen walked over to where he was standing and looked down at Lavi. "Did Mel keep you up all night?" he asked.

"No, but we have an even bigger issue, now that she's my height." Lavi pointed towards the Italian Exorcist, who stuck her tongue out at him distastefully.

Allen lay down on his stomach at looked at Mel, trying not to laugh. "You're about as adorable as Lavi!" he said, grinning in the way only Allen could at something like this. He picked her up gently and set her on his palm, then went to reach for Lavi.

Lavi started his chant, activating his Innocence, with extended and punctured Allen's palm. "Don't reach for me like that- I'm not a kitten."

"Oh, right, sorry…" he said, offering his palm to him after shaking his slightly injured hand, flecks of blood dripping onto the floor. Mel grinned as Lavi cautiously stepped on, wondering how nervous of this he was.

When Allen stood up though, Mel was the one who began to get nervous. She flew up against Lavi, shivering quickly as she hugged him around the waist.

"Mel, what're you-?" he said, wondering if she was worried about the height. She had been scared when Kanda picked her up. Then again, who wouldn't be?

Still, it wasn't like her to be afraid of Yuu- she was usually the one who would catch him sneaking out of a hospital bed to go eat soba or return to his room after he had an injury.

Determining that acrophobia was why she was acting so paranoid, he stroked her hair gently and tried to tell her that it was okay.

His feelings were bound tightly inside of him, desperately struggling to come undone. He hated stuff like this- he was no good around girls and being a Bookman heir only was making the situation worse. God, if his Master knew what had happened to him, he'd be dead as a doorknob by now.

Shoving his thoughts aside, he looked at her against him and stroked her a little more, after which he firmly stood up, Mel still hugging him (albeit now around the ankles) and looked at Allen. "Where are you taking us?" he asked. "You're not taking us back to Komui, are you?"

"Oh, GOD no! Why would I do that? I'm not a sadist…" he said. Beginning to walk, he smiled, thinking to himself how defenseless and cute they both looked.

"Then where are you going?" Lavi asked.

"Well, considering the circumstances, I think it would be best to take you two with us. You'll have to lay low, though," Allen replied, smiling. "Most human beings- including myself- wouldn't think twice before trying to get their hands on adorable things like you."

Adorable. Lavi was slight annoyed by the word, but he tried his best not to show any signs of it. Slowly and carefully, and with much apprehension, he sat down, pulling his legs out of Mel's grasp.

Mel made another meeping noise and grabbed Allen's thumb, squeezing her eyes shut. She wouldn't look down, she wouldn't look down…

Mel looked back at Allen, who was smiling at her. "Your fear of heights is really bad. Your nails are digging into my skin. It's kinda painful…" he said, the quiet thundering of a voice making the knot in her stomach loosen a couple notches.

Mel immediately unlocked her grip from his finger and sat in the dead center so that she did not have to see the long fall down.

"What are we going to do until we leave?" she asked him, trying not to show her phobia any more.

"Well, we need food, right?" Allen said, beginning to walk a little faster down the hallway.

Mel fell silent, sitting back and watching everything pass by. A cleaning robot, another hallway, Reever and Komui…

…who suddenly stopped and followed Kanda and Allen with haste.

"Hold on, what happened here?" Komui demanded, putting a hand on Allen's shoulder. He stared at the two Exorcist's in Allen's palms and began slowly cracking up. He nearly burst out in a full laugh when Reever interrupted him.

"You didn't take your medicine again, did you, Melanie?" he asked.

Distraught, Mel scurried for an excuse. "Well, you see, while trying to keep Lavi warm last night, I was so busy and tired that I simply had no time for medicine before I fell asleep."

"You didn't explain how this… problem with you happened?" Reever poked.

"I'd rather not. It's embarrassing."

"And you don't think this is embarrassing when you're like this? I'm embarrassed because the medicine I made was for you!"

Komui pulled at Reever's ear. "That stuff DOES taste like fried okra. Give her a break- maybe she's used to being that small. And plus, letting them go on a mission could allow them to utilize her uncontrolled ability."

Kanda had walked ahead and down to the boat and was waiting on Allen, picking at the dirt under his nails in the meantime. Allen wanted to follow him, but he was too caught up in the argument to really get away.

"It's not my fault that I keep having these attacks! It's not like I choose to have them!" Mel retorted at Komui when she heard his comment. "I can get back to normal pretty easy, as long as I have enough energy."

"Fine, then," Reever said, crouching down to stare at her directly. "Be careful, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

As Allen and the mini-Exorcists escaped the Science Division leaders, they picked up a small breakfast (well, small to Allen, at least) and headed down to the boat.

"God, you took long enough!" Kanda nearly yelled, sitting down in the boat. "Where's Lenalee?" he asked.

Lenalee came speeding through the tunnel, stopping along the edge of the boat and balancing on its tip. "Sorry, emergency along the edge of town. Are we ready to go?" she asked.

Lavi smiled. "Yep!"

She looked down at him, suddenly shocked when she found he was accompanied by around similarly small Exorcist. "Mel, you really need to take your meds."

Mel scowled at her. "We're going with. I'm accompanying him. Everyone's a freaking critic."

"Why are they coming along, Kanda?" she asked, turning to the swordsman who simply stared back with a blank, expressionless face.

"How the hell should I know? Komui kept babbling about utilizing her potential and crap like that, so I came down here."

Lenalee sighed. "Whatever the case, we better go- the train is leaving soon and it's hours before we get there."


	8. Peace in Silence

Hours later, they had boarded the train and sat in the back car, which was pretty empty on that day. Lavi was playing with Allen's communicator earring as Lenalee watched with a grin, and Mel had snuck off to Kanda, who was, as usual on these missions, sitting alone in the corner and glancing at the pages of the mission file. She moved quickly, trying not to catch his attention.

Kanda glanced as something moved in the corner of his eye, but he was too late to catch what it was. _Probably that IDIOT, Lavi… _he thought, reaching towards the floor and grabbing at the Exorcist, who responded in a girlish squeak. _Oh, shit, that's not Lavi._

He immediately let go of Mel and stared at his hand, feeling that phantom pressure of her entirety against him. Half-shuddering and half interested, he picked her up again, this time a little more gently, and set her on the cushioned train car seat next to him. "Why are you spying on me?" he asked coldly.

"I'm not!" Mel bristled, angry that he'd accuse her of stalking him. "I wanted to know… what you wanted to talk to me about."

Kanda stopped, choking on his breath. He had completely forgotten the entire conversation that he and the Moyashi had been having before he found her like this. He turned away from her- what the hell was he thinking? Why was he feeling this way? That person he'd known so long ago… the curiosity was just like hers…

He stared at the floor blankly for a couple of minutes, and then slowly turned his head back to her. "Moyashi said you cared about us."

Mel stopped cold. He… had said that? Did he really feel… that way? Allen, and perhaps the others, too, were… comfortable with her?

"Well, I guess you could say that's true," she said, trying hard not to blush in embarrassment.

Kanda sighed. "I wouldn't think anyone even remotely would care about him, or even me for that matter."

"What are you talking about, Kanda?" Mel asked. "Of course I care about you! You're my friend, even if you don't act the same way back."

"Then why didn't I know it beforehand, if it was so obvious?" Kanda asked, a little more aggressive now. He really wanted to know a little more. Just a little more…

"Well, you see… I'm really not supposed to be connecting emotionally with anyone. Not you, nor Allen, nor Lavi. ESPECIALLY not Lavi. It's against my Director's orders."

Kanda realized what she'd meant- he already knew that she had worked for Central before she'd escaped, but what had Lvellie forced her to do while she was there?

And then it hit him hard like a big rock to the face. She was only a year younger than him. She had told them that she had been dragged away from her family when she was seven. And a year after that, she was working at the Vatican full-time as…

"It's about what happened nine years ago, isn't it?" he asked.

"It's a delicate subject. I would refuse to speak about it, if I hadn't quit a year ago…"

"Do you know about… HER?" he asked.

"All they told me was that she's alive. And that she was put into stasis at about the same time as you."

Kanda didn't understand why she was running her mouth to him of all people. "Why are you telling me all of this, Melanie? Aren't you afraid of what they'll do if they find out you told me?"

"I don't care anymore. My nightmares have gotten steadily worse since you guys came back from the Ark. Shadows. And Storms. And incomprehensible words. I'm all alone, I can't think of anyone who's in the amount of pain I'm in." She put her hands to her face. "I can't see anyone without them trying to hurt me anymore, can I? I'm afraid that if Allen and the others knew, they'd pin me in a corner and demand answers. I thought that…" she said, breaking her sentence to silently crying into her palms. "I thought that you would kill me here and now when I said anything to you." She broke into a bawling fit, curling up even tighter than she already was.

Kanda froze up even more when he heard this. He didn't understand her at all- she never did this. EVER. It was making that feeling in his chest even worse. What was that sickening feeling, anyway?

"Listen, you're being unreasonable. I wouldn't kill you for some stupid reason like that." He gently picked her up and forced her to lay flat against his palm. With two of his fingers, he held her there like that. He felt tears hitting his hands gently. With a very gentle stroke, he tapped at her back, knowing from watching Reever do it that it was the fastest way to calm her down.

"But you need to stop crying," he continued. "It's hurting my head, but more importantly it's not like you. You're stronger than this. It's what makes you who you are. And for once in my life, this feeling in my chest is something that I haven't felt in years. It's fear. "

"Huh?" Mel said, taking her turn at being the slower of the two minds for a moment.

"The way you've been acting lately has been making me feel more than just awkward… it's scaring me. The day I met you, you were simply a member of the Science Division with a gift. When you came into my room for the first time, I refused service from you because I didn't want anyone to waste a "holy gift" on me. You slapped me across the face and told me to shut up. I see you as a person who thinks she has to be cruel to be kind. But that's not what you were at all. You're first impression made me detest you."

"Kanda, this isn't like you," Mel said. "Why are you acting so deep?"

"Because this is the only time for me to talk to you that I may ever get. Remember what you've told people about your Innocence- it's heals others, but not yourself." He sighed, unpinning her and setting her down on the seat again, this time laying his head down so that he could see her better. "The second time was when I heard you screaming in your sleep. You were still pretty annoying, and a crybaby at that, but I heard you say something very important that I haven't forgotten yet."

_I talk in my sleep? _Melanie thought.

"You said 'Don't hang onto the past so much- it darkens the future.'"

Mel looked at him. "Kanda, I'm sorry that I gave you the wrong impression of myself at first. You were being really stubborn."

"Well, you're stubborn too."

"Maybe, but I'm glad I've met you, Kanda. You've taught me a lesson too."

"What's that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There is peace in silence."


	9. Catnapped

Mel realized she would find no peace in silence as she was tossed around Kanda's pocket, brutally and nightmarishly getting stuck often with her legs over her or her hands behind her back. She slammed into the side where the swordsman's body met the cloth a few times and everything suddenly got hazier. She had No IDEA what was going on.

Allen, Kanda and Lenalee got at least another dozen Akuma destroyed before they started realizing that something was up. Allen kept checking his pockets while the other two killed off the last of the Akuma, his eyes suddenly realizing that Lavi was gone.

As Kanda came back, he looked at Allen and huffed. "What's wrong with you, Moyashi?"

"It's Allen!" he said, getting angry with the samurai. "Lavi was right here… and now he's gone…"

"WHAT?" Mel said, poking out of the pocket to stare at him, dumbfounded. "You've got to be kidding me! He could be anywhere in the city by now!"

"Well, sorry! I didn't mean to…"

"You didn't MEAN to nearly kill us on the ARK, Allen. You didn't mean you get yourself possessed by that one twerp, Timothy. God, you're clumsy as hell!" Kanda said, a slightly painful tugging on his earlobe quickly following.

"Quit insulting everyone, Kanda!" Mel yelled.

She was quickly grabbed by Kanda's free hand and brought up to his vision, where he blankly stared at her. "DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK, KANDA! YOU KNOW I HATE IT WHEN YOU YELL LIKE THAT!" she screamed at him, not happy about how she was being held.

Kanda quickly set her in the snow of Moscow, and Lenalee issued an idea. "Let's go look for him. Mel, you get the smallest section because of your… problem."

"…fine, I'll look for Lavi over there."

After an hour of searching for Lavi, Mel was already getting frostbite from the snow. Her ears were really turning bright red now, and her nose was a very dark pink. She sneezed a little bit, another small bit of snow dropping onto her from above. She shook it off and continued walking.

She thought she saw the figure of a small animal- a kitten- who seemed to be stalking a very lively bit of prey. She followed the black cat as it rounded a corner into a dead end. Whatever prey it was, it screamed pretty loud.

She turned the corner and suddenly saw Lavi looking at the cat's eyes, which were narrowed as if to pounce. She let out a loud gasp and grabbed her mouth, watching as the cat turned to face her and yawned slightly, baring sharp, white fangs of pure death.

"You better start running, Mel!" Lavi yelled at her, and she did that, running around the alley in an attempt to get over to Lavi and help him get away before they were both killed. She looked at the cat's eyes in particular, creeped out by the eerie feeling surrounding her as she ran further.

She looked down at where Lavi was standing, and noticed that about maybe a yard or two away was a hole in the stone wall of the building that he could easily take shelter in. She began running backwards and pointed to the hole, and he looked over, nodded, and understood, beginning to run towards the hole.

Unfortunately, the black cat saw her hand motion as well, and began moving towards Lavi ever so quickly.

Lavi began running faster as the cat pushing its speed to intercept him, wanting badly to get out of there before things got bad for him. In regular measurements, he was only about two feet away when he was suddenly picked up in the teeth of the monster cat.

He struggled in the grip of the cat as the creature sat down in the corner away from the hole. "Let go of me!" he yelled. "I'm too young to die like this! Hell, I SHOULD NEVER die like this!"

The cat set him on the ground and licked him on his underside, where it had bitten him slightly. Lavi looked up at the cat. "Wait, what?"

The cat looked around and made a small sighing noise.

Mel walked up to the cat, who violently swatted at her. "Mine!" it said.

"Huh? What did you say?" she asked, unclogging her ears with her finger.

"I didn't say anything. Are you okay?" Lavi asked.

"You can hear me?" the cat said. The voice sounded distinctly female, and not too foreign either. Where had she heard this voice before?

Before she could get that question answered, the Exorcists felt a tremor in the ground, motions that made thumping noises that got louder and louder, until suddenly, the worst of their suspicions was confirmed.

A young girl with spiky black hair rounded the corner and smiled, approaching the cat and kneeling down to pet her. Her shoes and striped socks where some of the only recognizable features of her besides her ever-grinning face, as she was wearing a winter coat. "Well, well, Lulu Bell. Looks like you did catch some very fine prey. You wanted me to take them?"

Lavi stared at Road with a terrified expression. "Road, what're you doing?"

"Huh? Oh, it's not just random people this time? Oh, Lulu Bell, you shouldn't have!" she said, reaching for the Bookman with an open hand.

Lavi reached for his anti-Akuma weapon, but felt her grip suddenly form around him and lift him from the snowy ground. "Ugh, dammit! Let go of me!" Lavi screamed.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Mel yelled at her, catching both the attention of Lulu Bell and Road at once. The cat pinned her down against the ground. "Can I please eat her?" Lulu Bell asked, licking her lips slightly.

Road slipped her fingers beneath the cat's paw and lifted Mel up to her eyes, which changed colors immediately. "No, I think I'm going to have my playtime now."

As the Noah of Dreams stood up, she zipped open a pocket on her coat and put them both in there, zipping it back up as soon as they had recovered from tumbling off her hand. "Now, I don't want anything naughty happening, or I'll kill you. Got it?" she said.


	10. Never Play with Food

As soon as Road got back to her room at the Noah household, Road unzipped the pocket and reached in for them. She felt her fingertip touch one of them- _the girl,_ she thought- and felt that person jump back and cling to the other. "Aww, don't be afraid of me, little Exorcists! I'm off duty now… I won't hurt you…"

_Much… _she thought to herself.

She closed her hand around the quivering bodies and gently pulled them out. "Now, now… I'm okay, see? No candles?" she said, putting her other arm in the air so it looked like she was swearing an oath.

Lavi looked up at her and stared for a minute, wondering how young this girl was. Ten, maybe? She looked about it.

He also noticed that she was also a little bit pretty. _I wonder if she's in my strike zone…_ he thought for a moment.

"Now, what shall we do?" Road asked them, setting them on the floor and lying on her stomach, her legs in the air behind her. She looked around her pink and purple frilled room and noticed an old dollhouse that she hadn't played with in a while. _Is it gathering dust?_ she wondered, picking the miniature Exorcists up and putting them on her palm. She walked over to the large blue dollhouse, which was complete with staircases, and scooped all of the dust out. Then, she set them inside the dollhouse and smiled. "You two look so cute in there!" she said, grinning a little cheekily.

Lavi nearly scowled at her when Mel nudged him in the stomach. "Play along and bear it or she'll kill us, idiot," she mumbled.

"I know, I know," he mumbled back. He called up to the Noah Giantess. "What are we doing now?" he asked.

"Well," Road said, getting out a few boxes, each with clothes, furniture, or other dolls in them. She opened the lid of the one with furniture in it. It was a pretty large box. She took out all the parts she need to in order to set each room up perfectly. "Okay, so this goes here..." she continued to herself, a couch in her hand and another box in the other. After placing the couch and the other pieces, she opened the lid of the doll box and pulled out a small baby in a cradle and placed it upstairs.

"We're gonna play Mommy and Daddy and Baby!" Road squealed, and the Exorcists prickled with horror. They turned to each other and gave each other a grave expression.

Mel then looked away, wondering how bad this was going to be. Was it going to be like real life, where sometimes the dad or mom has to do something and never comes back? Or just plain gets angry and leaves?

Lavi, who had also turned away, was having similar thoughts. He couldn't be seriously doing this, could he? IF Bookman ever knew, the consequences would be severe. But at the same time, was this the only chance he'd get to talk to anyone about himself like a normal human being?

Mel and Lavi simultaneously nodded. "We'll play your game, if you'll let us go."

"Well," Road said, thinking about it, "I dunno. I've never had pets before…"

Lavi ticked at that. "Just swear it or we won't play!"

"Lavi! Don't upset her; she's bigger than both of us!"

Road looked at Mel, sensing a deeper fear than Lavi's. A BURNING phobia. "When you put it that way…" she said, putting a hand behind her back crossing her fingers, "I'll DOUBLE swear it!" She held out her pinky to the Tiny Exorcists, and she faked and forged her trust with a handshake.

"Now, wear these!" she said, holding up doll clothes for them. There was a red velvet dress and a blue tuxedo. "Put these on and be Mommy and Daddy!" she said, turning around. "I won't look."

Lavi looked at Mel, who was already changing into the dress easily, and blushed, stripping himself of everything but his boxers and slipping into the surprisingly comfortable clothes. He buttoned up the jacket and looked over at Mel, who was having difficulty with her corset. He walked over and grabbed the string, pulling it tightly and looping it until it reached the top.

Mel turned around and stared at Lavi. "You know, I've never seen you this formal."

"Neither have I."

"Aww, you're so pretty and handsome now!" Road cooed, turning back around happily. "Now, what to do with them… oh, right, Mommy and Daddy have to have a backstory on how they met!"

Lavi shuddered a little. A Backstory? Like, dating and stuff? Who did she think he was? A pimp?

Lavi sighed, remembering as much romantic novel stuff as he could from his training. Then he took Mel's hand and spoke.

"It was the summer of 1889 when I met her. Those shining eyes… that silky hair. Why she cut it off was a mystery to me. But she never cut her old spirit- free and charming. It was the day she saved me from a moving carriage that I fell in love with her."

He shifted positions and tilted Mel back. "We don't say a word about any of this to the others, 'kay?" he whispered.

"Sure," she replied quietly.

He continued. "Soon, the months turned into years, and I asked her to marry me. At first she said no," he said, allowing Mel to slap in the face and run to the other side of the dollhouse. "But, the further she ran from me, the further away our hearts were from each other. Like a powerful magnet, we drew ever closer, and were soon in each other's embrace again."

They paused, waiting for Road's response.

For a couple of minutes, there was silence, and then a comment came from Road. "Well, aren't ya gonna kiss or something?" she asked.

Mel looked at Lavi. "Do we really have to?"

"Yes! Do it!" Road hissed.

Lavi looked at the Italian Exorcist with apology. "Forgive me."

"No," Mel replied, "forgive ME. For putting you through this."

Lavi leaned forward and held Mel closer. "None of this is your fault."

Mel felt something against her lips before she could reply. It felt good. TOO good. She closed her eyes, pushing herself forward and into him a little more, and a tugging in her heart _wanted _it and _NEEDED _it. There was a sudden fluttering in her chest, and she felt everything getting hot.

Lavi felt her body up against his, and he sighed, shuddering violently as he began to feel a dulled but present sense of arousal. He was feeling all of her- her curves, her breath, and her lips- against his, and the fact that there wasn't much they could do about it didn't scare him at all. He felt semi-relieved but semi-guilty for sure- they BOTH did- but for now, their urges were pulling them closer and closer until suddenly they snapped and backed off.

"We can't do it…" Mel said.

"We can't play your game," Lavi followed.

"Good. Now that you see what's going on, I have to show you something, so change out of your clothes quickly and back into your old ones."

Mel looked at Lavi. "I'm sorry that I went out of control."

Lavi looked back and into her eyes. "Are you kidding? If I had gone any further, I would've hurt you. I'm the one who should be sorry."

Mel sighed. "I hate to admit it, but for a guy who says he's not allowed to express emotion towards others, you kick ass in kissing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lavi asked, slightly annoyed.

"I mean, well… sorry I guess I worded it wrong."

"No, it's okay. Was that… your first kiss, Mel?" he asked, blushing a little bit.

"NO! Of Course Not!" she suddenly lied, embarrassed that he had taken it from her like that! She didn't like him like that! She wasn't _allowed _to like anyone like that!

"Mel," Lavi said. "You can tell me the truth, y'know."

"Huh?" she breathed, upset that her rouse had failed.

"Sorry I took it…" he said. "She would have killed us…"

Mel was embarrassed to the brim now, sweating a little bit in nervousness. "Well, I guess if it's with a handsome guy that I care about it isn't ALL bad, right?"

"Huh? You… care about me? But, I'm a Bookman… I'm not even a true Black Order member. Why would you care about me?" he asked.

"Because you took a bullet for me, I guess. I would have died."

They turned around to see Road standing in the doorway, staring at them with her gold eyes. "I'm ready. Come to dinner with me."

Lavi and Mel perked up. She was letting them eat?

Road held out a hand, letting the Exorcists innocently climb on and sit. Then she took off running towards the dining room.

Lavi looked at all of the family pictures. "Woah, you guys have a large family…" he idly remarked.

"Yeah, imagine living with them," Road replied. Smiling, she turned the corner and entered the spacious dining room, where she had placed a cutting board a bunch of knives and steak prongs. Mel recognized the blades well- and they were extremely sharp. She began to struggle, all the while screaming frantically.

Lavi noticed the sharpness of the instruments, too, and he looked up at Road. "What're you planning now?" he asked nervously.

"I think it's time to end this. Frankly, you bored me nearly to death. The backstory, the fake acting. IT SUCKED. So I think I'm going to let you see what happens to bad pets when they don't listen."

Lavi gulped. He didn't like the sound of that… _at all_…

And then he was promptly pinned to the cutting board with at least five knives and a set of barbeque prongs. He looked over at Mel, who was being held down as the prongs were holding her down. She turned to face him, a scowl on her face. "You _had_ to ask what she was gonna do. You HAD to ask… God, you're supposed to be the more intelligent of us!" She looked away. "I hate you so much right now…"

Lavi got annoyed and started trying to lift the prongs away from their place above the shoulders. There was no use- if he slid up, there was no way his body would fit through, but if he went down, he could get speared in the groin with the steak knife that stood so precariously there.

Lavi went to reach for his weapon, when he realized that Road had pinned his limbs down, too. Sighing at how much this was going to ruin his jacket, he tries reaching again, the fabric tearing slightly.

However, Road heard the noise and shifted her gaze towards him. "Oh, no, toys would be too rough," she commented, taking the end of the knife in her hand and slipping Lavi's inactivated tessei out of its holster and away from his reach.

Desperate, Lavi struggled, trying to figure out what was going through Road's mind. She stared at the Exorcists for a little while longer and sighed. "I think I know how I'm going to punish you for your terrible theatre work."

Mel's eyes flicked between Lavi and Road, wondering what was about to take place. What action would Road take? And why did she look so savage?

Road giggled sweetly. "I never said I was going to feed you, did I?" she said. "No. Since Milennie's sick and no one can cook, I guess that I'm just gonna have to eat you instead."

Lavi suddenly put the pieces together and began struggling even harder than before. "You can't be serious! We'll die!"

Road looked down at him directly and narrowed her eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. I had this planned. You see, I can't let Milennie see us together- that would make me seem soft."

Mel frowned at her, but tried to stay calm. "Would it be easier for you to just slaughter us in cold blood, like you usually do to the rest of us?" she asked.

"We're people too, not savages, darling. I want to feel your attempts to escape."

Mel suddenly felt disgusted. "You're a sadist!"

"Duh, where do you think I get it from? It's my hatred of Innocence! I doubt it'll save you now- you're too weak to do anything by yourself!"

"Let us go!" Lavi said.

"Alright, suit yourselves, eager ones." She undid some of Mel's prongs and grabbed her, lifting her up into the air and smiling. "I hope you enjoy yourself- it's probably the last hour or two you'll ever have."

Mel looked at her. "I hope you're happy, you cannibal…"

Road scowled. "Puh-lease! That's such a pedestrian term. I'd like to say that I'm… dedicated to my work."

Before Mel could say anything, she was shoved into the darkness.

Road giggled a little as she undid Lavi's prongs and held him up. "Why don't you watch her futile struggles? I'm sure you'll enjoy another piece of lost history." And with that, she tilted her head back ever so gently… and swallowed.

Lavi stared at her throat until he couldn't hear Mel's screaming anymore. He could still hear the sound- a painful screeching like a banshee was coming closer. He rubbing away a tear from his eyes, kicking harder than ever, and his eyes widened as she held him over her by the back of his coat.

"Au Revoir, JU-NI-OR!" she giggled, and then began lowering him towards her.

Lavi kicked and screamed, obviously not wanting to die this way. But just as he was about to pass her teeth, he heard a male voice that was all too familiar.

From behind Road, Tyki stepped out of the hall. "Road, what are you doing?"

Road, surprised, quickly shoved Lavi in her mouth and pinned him against the cheek. She turned to her younger brother. "Nothing…"


	11. The PeacefulWilled Gentleman

Tyki looked at her. "No, you were doing something. Were you eating dolls? God, I already need to have you checked for insanity. Now, do I have to go to the hospital for your case of Pica?"

Road shook her head and moved Lavi, who was now beginning to squirm around and look for an escape.

Tyki looked at her. "What's in your mouth, Road?"

Road backed away from him, shaking her head furiously.

Tyki moved towards her, pinning her in a corner. She looked like she still had her 'food' in her mouth. Perhaps he could figure out what it was. "Just open your mouth and let me see what new doll you got… I won't hurt you over that."

Road simply looked at him and swallowed promptly.

Lavi felt himself being shoved down head first, tightly constricted and moving against his will. "Dammit! You demon! Why would you be so insane? I'M NOT FOOD!" he yelled. He kept moving however, and he sighed. Was this really how he was going to die?

He dropped into a large pit, where a low amount of liquid, maybe only knee- high, was stirring slightly. It was pitch black- a dark hell- and Lavi frantically tried pawing around for Mel, all the while being tossed around like he was in a bag of popcorn.

After hitting the walls about a dozen times, he hit an object with a thud, which responded with a prompt "Ow" and a slippery tumble into the puddle. Mel felt his face and smiled, although it didn't matter due to the lack of light. She hugged him. "Are you injured?"

"Thank God, no," he replied, a little nervous. "What about you?"

"Sadly, I broke a wrist on the way down."

"Speaking of the way down, there's no escape, is there."

Mel, abnormally calm, sighed. "No, I suppose not."

Lavi looked at her. "So we're just gonna die in here?"

"Well no, if you're talking about the acids. Ironically, we can still die from starvation…"

Lavi looked at her, a little shocked. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"The chemical compound in the medicine that spilled on you was created to counteract my molecular issue by making my body think it was compact. The same chemical influence my Innocence has on the brain, but without these effects, of course. Because only my Innocence can negate the effects it has on others, your molecular structure is much more compact."

Lavi was confused. "Wouldn't that mean that I'd still maintain my weight, though?"

"If the chemicals used to make the molecular structure denser hadn't been paired with the old shrinking formulas Komui had, then yes, I suppose so," she replied.

"So… we just sit here and wait until something happens?" he asked.

"Yep, seems like it."

Road yelled at Tyki even louder. "You're not fooling me into making me drink that nasty Ipecac crap! Milennie hates it, that's why it's locked in the cabinet!"

Tyki held the brown bottle in his hand. "Fine, I guess I have no choice." Setting down the bottle on the table, he smiled. "Sorry if it hurts at all."

He ran, towards her, spearing his left hand into the left side of her ribcage with his ability and fishing around, blocking any attempts to slap him with his other arm. He finally felt her stomach walls and felt around for her 'dolls'. But instead, he felt another feeling- something against his hand that was moving and alive. What was worse- it felt _human_.

He grabbed the squirming things and pulled them out of Road directly. Road, thoroughly pissed, finally managed to slap Tyki. "You jerk, they were MINE!"

He looked at the things struggling in his hands a little closer, noticing their familiar clothing and faces. His eyes narrowed in surprise. "Shounen's friend? Huh? And he brought someone with him?"

Lavi cussed a little bit more. "What the HELL was that? You pulled us out of her like it was nothing!"

Mel sighed in relief- to think they'd be stuck in there… "Sir, would you mind putting us down- you're gripping awfully tight."

Tyki blushed in surprise. "Road, why are you eating people?"

"BECAUSE I WANT TO!" she screamed.

"Go take a time out," he said.

"Make me."

"Do it or I'll tell Millennium what I saw."

Road promptly left the room, and Tyki brought the Exorcists into the kitchen and set them on the counter. "Sorry that she acted this way to you- she's been behaving oddly ever since the Ark incident."

"We can tell," Lavi said, brushing himself off as he watched Tyki go about preparing a small meal. It seemed odd- he was awful quiet and calm. What was more, he wasn't trying to kill them.

Mel looked at Tyki. He seemed pretty miserable for some reason, but she couldn't tell why. "Sir, are we a bother at all?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Tyki said, turning away. "It's just… the Millennium Earl's been sick, y'know? And sometimes I just want the war to end. It seemed irrational to me."

Mel looked at him. "But if one of our sides wins, the other won't be satisfied, will they?"

"Sadly, that's the way it always has been." He cut a piece of ham for each of them. "This is my down time- I have no intent to kill anyone on my down time. I think fighting in a fair combat sort of way is a little more fun and sportsman-like. Here, eat this- I'm sorry she was cruel to you."

Lavi looked at the ham and smiled. "Thank you so much."

Mel sobbed. "You have no idea how much this means to me, Tyki…"

Tyki paused. "I don't remember meeting you before… how is it that you know me, Miss?"

"Well," she said, "I'm not quite sure. I feel like I just know you from somewhere…"

"Ah, maybe we knew each other from another life or something like that." He held out a hand. "Care to join me for dinner?"

Mel looked at Lavi and nodded. "It's okay, he won't hurt us…"


	12. The Noah's Tears Dry

As they sat down at the table and ate, Mel felt a sensation come over her. It felt kind of normal, like she felt a little more comfortable with this man. She patted it out of her mind for now- it was better to save questions.

Tyki sighed. "Your pretty boy destroyed one of our family members, Skinn. It was most unnerving- it seems that he'll come back though. Maybe this time it won't be as easy for you to kill him."

Melanie sighed. "I guess this world has become too brutal."

"You're telling me," Tyki said with a smile. "Who are the 'bad guys', really?"

"Exactly," Lavi said, examining their conversation. "To me, this all seems like a war over a simple miscommunication."

"Why should we be responsible for our ancestor's follies?" Mel asked.

Tyki bit down a little more on the meat he was chewing. "Because we have no choice- if either side surrenders, the other won't see it as understanding. Rather, they'll blame the other for being cowards. That's why we must fight I guess- for the pride of knowing we are right in some way."

"Doesn't it seem drastic, taking lives of innocent people for some selfish cause?" Mel replied.

"Need I remind you of what had happened nine years ago, Miss Exorcist?" Tyki brushed his pinky under her chin. "The Black Order is just as solid about destroying human rights as we are."

Mel pushed the finger away and broke her gaze from him. "What would you know?"

"I lost a member of my biological family to the Second Exorcist Program."

Lavi looked up, eyes narrowing, and remembered every word.

Mel stood up, about to object, about to say what she was forced to do, when suddenly… she felt a strange tingling in her body. A sudden surge of emotion flooded through her, and she began to feel incredibly dizzy. She felt a tightening around her body.

Tyki watched as the young girl reverted back to what seemed to be her normal state, her clothes tearing away from her body and her entire being falling directly onto him. He gasped, nearly choking on air itself and blushing profusely, and sat her down in a chair. Putting his jacket over her, he sighed. "I'll go get some clothes for you. Just stay here."

Lavi ran across the table and tried to get her attention. "MEL! WAKE UP! YOU PASSED OUT, WAKE UP!"

Mel slowly tilted her head and cautiously opened an eye. "Huh? Wha- Where am I?"

"The Noah Family's Dining Room… a-are you okay? That was really sudden." Lavi watched as she looked around, unable to identify the voice for a couple moments.

"L-Lavi? Where are you? I can't hear you well..."

"I'm down here…"

Mel tilted her head forwards and stared at him. "Eh? Y-You're… small again? But how?"

Lavi gave himself a quick facepalm and explained. "You looked like you were going to be sick and then you just changed back, somehow. But… your clothes… yeah, about that…"

Mel looked down at what she was wearing and screamed.

Tyki walked back in the room and dropped the clothes, plugging his ears and yelling. "God, do you HAVE to be so freaking loud all the time?" he hollered.

She stopped and stared at him. For a minute, she thought she was going to cry for all of the yelling Tyki was doing, but then she noticed the clothes on the ground and sighed. "Thank you. You're too kind to me."

"Anything to be able to fight with you guys sometime."

After putting clothes on- which consisted of a corseted dress and a coat to cover her arms- she whispered something into Tyki's ear. Tyki nodded and turned to Lavi. "Sorry, she kind of wants me to do this."

He picked Lavi up, allowing him enough time to get ready before he heard some annoying ranting, and brought him into the kitchen. Setting him on the cutting board, he went into a nearby cupboard and pulled out a small mason jar.

Lavi realized what was going on and ran just as Tyki took a knife to the jar's metal lid. However, Tyki looked at Lavi and sighed, reaching towards him. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you…" he said, grabbing Lavi around the waist with his thumb and forefinger. "I don't know about your girlfriend, though…"

Lavi began trying to dig his nails into the webbing between Tyki's fingers, which was surprisingly painful to the Noah of Pleasure. "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" he yelled. "LET ME THE HELL GO!"

Tyki dropped him into the jar and gently screwed the lid shut. "I'll be gentle with you, calm down."

"You idiot, let me out!" he yelled, futilely banging on the glass to get out.

Tyki came back to Mel and handed her his handkerchief. "Put that over the jar for a second, I have a surprise for you for not trying to kill me."

"Huh?" she said, obediently putting the white cloth over the jar, thus blindfolding poor Lavi, who was still going berserk.

Tyki reachedin and held his hand under her neck. "We don't speak about this to our families, okay?" he said, leaning in a kissing her.

Mel blushed for a moment, but then the feeling of pleasure was sucked away somehow, not by the man himself, but rather, something inside her stirred. For the slightest moment, she felt a little angry at him for doing that. The anger grew more and more with each passing second.

Tyki looked at Mel during the kiss and suddenly blanked, tears beginning to run down his eyes. What was going on? Out of the corner of his eye he caught a momentary tint of gray upon her skin and what he thought were stigmata.

He pulled away and stared at her. "My eyes must be playing around with me…" he thought aloud.

"The Hell they are!" Mel yelled,k thoroughly pissed, with a hand in the air. She went to smack him, but missed, passing out cold again.

Mel felt the same sounds repeat over and over again- the sound of thunder, the feeling of darkness around her, and a voice saying to her "Never Forgive…" "Never Forgive…"

She woke suddenly in a cold sweat and looked around her settings- she was back in the Black Order in her bed, with Lavi, Kanda and Allen staring at her from across the room.

"Uh, guys…" she began.

Allen turned. "Hey, she finally awake! Welcome Home!" he greeted, walking towards her

Kanda huffed a little and walked to her as well.

Lavi smiled and looked over. "Glad you woke up… you passed out again."

"What happened?" Mel questioned.

"Well, you two disappeared and we couldn't find you for hours. Then some well-dressed and familiar guy delivered you two here. Lavi looked especially adorable in that jar."

"Sh-Shut up!" Lavi yelled, throwing something at Allen, who quickly dodged.

"Bookman nearly flipped a lid when he saw me," Lavi said, "but luckily, Komui had found a cure, and I was back to my old self quite quickly."

"You wouldn't stop mumbling some annoying shit that I couldn't understand," Kanda said, back to his usual habit of cussing at least once per sentence.

"And everything else?" she asked.

"Back to normal too- Johnny is making a new uniform for you." He walked over and whispered in her ear. "And it's a little more appropriate this time."

Mel blushed. "You didn't like it? I designed it for that purpose- to lure an enemy inward so I could attack head-on."

Lavi was shocked. "You mean… seducing… is NORMAL for you?"

"Well, yes… that's why I was known as the Kisser CROW when I worked with Howard and Issac."

Allen shuddered. "That guy won't stop bothering me…" he said, remembering Link and his annoying little brother, who was a little bit older than Kanda.

Mel sighed. Perhaps she needed probation… she was feeling awfully strange lately. And her Innocence had kept trying to kill her. What HAD been going on?

She had remembered the talk that Allen had with Marian Cross before he had died. He had said something about Allen's "becoming the 14th" and all that business. Allen too had been struggling with his Innocence, and heck, his body was dysfunctional.

Maybe… it was because…

"Hey, Kanda," Mel asked. "I keep hearing this voice in my head… it keeps telling me to… to never forgive. Do you possibly-"

She was interrupted as Kanda grabbed her arm and pinned her against the wall. She stared at Kanda. "Yuu, what are you do-"

"Shut it!" he yelled. "I thought I killed you!"

Lavi looked at Kanda. "Aren't you being a little harsh on-"

"Idiot! Weren't you listening to what she said?" Kanda yelled again. He turned to Mel, who had already begun to cry. "What's wrong with you, coming back and taking her? Her, of all people?"

Mel looked at him, her eyes shifting to a golden color and going cat's-eye. Her skin darkened quickly, and across her forehead, a line of stigmata appeared on her forehead.

"I thought you killed me, too. Kanda… I remember now… "

Her own Innocence began going completely crazy, and her arm broke from Kanda's grip a smacked him upside the face.

Lavi pinned her to the floor. "What is wrong with you? Why are you like this?"

"I'm an embodiment of Wrath, Bookman Jr. – a Child of Noah."


	13. A Simple Thanks

Lavi took his hammer and propped it against the door. "She's a young and inexperienced Noah- calming her down will be simple."

Kanda stared down, his foot on top of her chest. She kicked and screamed at him, grabbing onto his leg and digging into the skin with her nails. "Let go of me, bastard. You have no right to imprison me!"

"You have no right to return and take her from us!" he replied, taking his sword and slicing into the floor, inches from her face. He moved it upwards and around her head, cutting off any long hair. "Don't talk to me like this."

Mel snapped and broke out in a fit, clawing at Kanda's leg to the point where it began to bleed viciously, the crimson drops staining the floor and Mel's dress. She got angrier and angrier, like a nest of hornets about to swarm, until she finally snapped, screaming bloody murder across the entire Black Order.

Lavi tried to silence her quickly by putting his hand over her mouth, but she bit him, causing him to stumble backwards onto Allen. The impact caused both of them to stumble backwards and hit a gas lantern, which abruptly broke and hit the bed, catching the blue blankets on fire.

Mel snapped out of her state suddenly, her skin returning to its normal color as well as her eyes. "Guys, why is the bed on fire? You need to be careful…"

Kanda looked down at his leg and stared back at her. "Do you even know what you just did?"

"No, not really… it was really red and blurry for a bit. I did hear a voice…" she said, as clueless as possible about the situation seconds before.

Allen ran out of the room and, after hearing the smashing of glass, came back with a fire blanket in his arms. Snuffing out the fire, he sighed. "Well, there goes a pretty good blanket…"

Lavi stared at Mel for a moment, and then shook off all the events. Mel saw his hand dripping as he trembled slightly and took it, fixing it up quickly. She yawned, stared at Lavi, and passed out.

Lavi looked at her blankly. "So, what made her snap out of it?"

"Dunno," Kanda replied, and briskly exited the room.

Allen put his hand on Lavi's shoulder. "So… what exactly were you doing while you were at the Noah Family Household?"

"Uhm… well… y'see…" Lavi began.

"Is there something you aren't telling me?" Allen asked.

"No! Nothing! Nothing at all!" Lavi protested.

"Sure…" Allen said, looking back at Mel and double-taking when he realized she was gone. "Where'd she go?" he asked.

Lavi looked around, and then down onto the floor, where he saw Mel lying down, asleep. He crouched down and picked her up, and just as he walked out of the room, he heard her say something. Perhaps in sleep, but perhaps consciously, she whispered:

"Thank you… for keeping your promise."


End file.
